Opening date announced for Jake's Wayback Burgers in Ventura

Jake’s Wayback Burgers is slated to open in March at a Gateway Plaza space that has been vacant since 2008. The adjoining Marble Slab Creamery closed in December. Other restaurants in the Ventura shopping center include Panera Bread and Urbane Cafe.

Ventura County Star

Paper covers the windows at the future Jake’s Wayback Burgers location at the Gateway Plaza shopping center in Ventura. The first Ventura County site in the chain is slated to open in March.

Ventura County Star

The newest hamburger chain to stake a claim in Ventura County plans to open March 11 in Ventura's Gateway Plaza.

Jake's Wayback Burgers, founded in 1991 in Newark, Del., and known for its hand-dipped milkshakes and Burger of the Month promotions, will debut in a space that has been vacant since the 2008 closures of SanSai Japanese Grill and Sarione Korean BBQ. The address is 4960 Telephone Road, Suite 102.

Spokeswoman Gillian Maffeo said in January 2012 that Wayback planned to open its first California location in Newbury Park in "two to four months." But a suitable location failed to materialize, and the search was expanded. The first Wayback in the state opened last month in Santa Ana.

The chain has more than 60 locations in 15 states. In addition to Ventura, it plans to open six sites in February and March in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It also has plans to open in Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Virginia and the United Arab Emirates, Maffeo said.

Franchisee Kalt Foods Inc. applied in December for a license to sell beer and wine at the Ventura location.

On Tuesday, the windows remained papered over, and the notice of application to sell alcoholic beverages had been replaced by a construction permit notice.